WASHINGTON - Abraham Lincoln returned to the Washington Capitals locker room, shortly after Alex Ovechkin returned to the top of the NHLs goal-scoring race. Cheap Air Jordan 2 .In fact, they were one and the same.The Capitals have a playful ritual of awarding a stovepipe hat and Lincoln-like beard to a standout player to don after every victory. Yes, it looks as goofy as it sounds.The so-called Honest Abe Players Player of the Game ceremony had been on hiatus for nearly two weeks, the victim of a four-game losing streak padded around the All-Star break. The most honest thing coming from the Capitals was coach Barry Trotzs unhappiness over blown leads and a suddenly porous defence.The Capitals couldnt have found a better way to end the skid, a 4-0 win over Sidney Crosby and the rival Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night. Defensive discipline was back, and there was no sitting on the lead.We were just relying on our skill a little bit too much the last couple of games, forward Eric Fehr said.No one expected smooth sailing from the get-go as the franchise adjusted to Trotz in his first season in D.C., but its now 48 games into the 82-game season — time to start figuring out where the Capitals are headed. Up to now, theyve been essentially a .500 team (25 wins, 23 losses) that relied heavily on goaltender Braden Holtby (franchise-record 27 consecutive games) and found maddening ways to give up standings points — as they did in recent losses to struggling Edmonton and Columbus.Wednesdays win put the Capitals into sixth place in the Eastern Conference. Thats hardly the most secure position, given they finished ninth a year ago — missing the playoffs by one spot.Its one of those things we seem to play well against really good teams, Holtby said. We have to find a way to make sure we play that way against everyone.For much of the last decade, the Capitals have never been short on talent — its been intangibles such as leadership, chemistry and coaching that have kept the team from making a serious Stanley Cup run. Trotz has been emphasizing that the best players need to play like the best players.Which means it comes back, as it always does, to Ovechkin, whose 51-goal campaign in 2013-14 was marred by a minus-35 plus-minus rating. This season Ovechkin is plus-12, and his pair of goals against the Penguins gave him 29, moving him ahead of Rick Nash and Tyler Seguin entering Thursdays games.When Alex is determined, the way he is lately, I think he just creates so much good offence, Trotz said. Hes dangerous every night. You look at the stat sheet, whether he scores or not, hes got 10 shots. Theres guys in the league who go a month without 10 shots sometimes.After a win, the player who was previously awarded the Lincoln garb has the honour of deciding who gets it next. Trotz said former winner Jason Chimera chose some insightful words when picking Ovechkin after the Penguins victory:Leaders lead. And he led today.___Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP Air Jordan 2 Retro . Diego Costa headed in Gabis corner seven minutes from time to secure victory ahead of the return match in Madrid on March 11. "We know that at Madrid it will be another game, which will also be important and very difficult," Milan coach Clarence Seedorf said. Jordan Retro 2 Cheap . Despite Barcelona showing the same vulnerability in defence, Messis best performance since returning from a lengthy injury layoff ensured that his side bounced back from a defeat by Valencia in the previous round. http://www.cheapairjordan2.com/ . First, Ivan Nova decided to have season-ending Tommy John elbow surgery. Then Michael Pineda was suspended for 10 games for using pine tar.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Kerry, At 8:54 in the third period of Thursdays game between Pittsburgh and Detroit, James Neal was assessed an interference penalty on Luke Glendening for moving his stick towards the board after Glendening had lost it earlier. Glendening was not trying to retrieve it and Neals actions did not interfere with the play. According to rule 53.2 it would appear that the interference call is not justified. Is there something I am missing? Mathieu BenoitSaint John, NB Mathieu: Your question was selected from one of ten pertaining to the interference penalty called against James Neal for shooting Luke Glendenings stick to the side boards with the Penguins on the power play. A very tricky rule application was created after Glendening lost his stick at the top of the Wings end zone face-off circle following an attempted poke-check on James Neal. Glendening lost his one handed grip through the check motion which caused the stick to travel 15 feet to the bottom of the circle close to the goal line where teammate Kyle Quincey was positioned. Quincey then shot/slid Glendenings stick to a carefully placed location out into the high slot near where Glendening was attempting to defend without his stick. Herein lies the first potential rule violation on this play! Rule 10.3 states that a player who has lost or broken his stick may only receive a stick at his own players bench or be handed one from a teammate on the ice. A player will be penalized if he throws, tosses, slides or shoots a stick to a teammate on the ice. Fortunately for the Red Wings, Luke Glendening was fronting Matt Niskanen who had the puck near the point. As such, Glendening was unable to pick up the attempted helper from Quincey. If Luke Glendening had picked up his stick at that moment, Kyle Quincey shouldd receive a minor penalty placing the Wings two men short for a minute and forty seconds! James Neal, from the high slot position just behind Glendening, felt his skate contact the stick that had been illegally passed by Quincey. Wholesale Air Jordan 2. I am quite certain that James Neal was unaware of the potential penalty to Quincey if Luke Glendening had picked up the twig. Instead, Neal jockeyed around Glendening with a cute series of deliberate skate drag maneuvers that moved the stick safely out of the reach of the Red Wing defender and effectively nullified the potential penalty to Quincey. Even though Glendening moved away from the immediate area of the stick to defend the opposite side point, it was incumbent upon James Neal to simply step away from the stick and leave it in the position it now rested. Once Neal shot Luke Glendenings stick 30 plus feet to the sidewall he violated rule 56.2 by effectively preventing Glendening from regaining possession of it. The inability Neal created for Glendening to retrieve his stick was further compounded by the fact that the Red Wings were already a man down by virtue of the penalty being served by Brendan Smith. The eventual outcome of this play highlights the need for players to clearly understand the rules. Just 20 seconds into a Penguins power play once Luke Glendening lost his hockey stick, things quickly transitioned from a potential penalty to Kyle Quincey that would have placed the Wings two men short; to additional freedom of end zone puck movement the Penguins enjoyed once Glendening lost his stick; to the creation of a four-on-four when James Neal was penalized for interference. I offer the following advice to players: If you encounter a stick lying on the ice that isnt broken, think twice before relocating it. It the stick is clearly broken, make sure any action taken to remove or discard the broken portion doesnt interfere with the movements of the puck or an opposing player! 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